Visa Estimates $36 Trillion Baby Boomer Wealth Transfer Over 20 Years

According to CNBC, Visa Business and Economic Insights estimated that $36 trillion in baby boomer wealth will pass to Gen X and millennials over the next 20 years, well below Cerulli Associates' widely cited $105 trillion estimate by 2048. Visa chief economist Wayne Best said the firm focused on how much inherited wealth will actually be spent, while Cerulli's Chayce Horton said the larger transfer estimate reflects all generations and all wealth groups, including high-net-worth and ultra-wealthy families. Visa put baby boomer wealth at about $93 trillion, then deducted $5 trillion in liabilities, $28 trillion for the top 1%, $16 trillion in retirement spending, and $8 trillion for charity and taxes, leaving $36 trillion to be transferred. Of that amount, Visa estimates $28 trillion will go to savings and investments and $8 trillion will be spent, mainly on cars, homes, travel and retail. Cerulli estimated that about $18 trillion of $124 trillion in total transferable wealth will go to charity, leaving $106 trillion for heirs and spouses, with Gen X set to inherit $14 trillion in the next 10 years and millennials eventually receiving $46 trillion in the next 25 years.